Feels Like the Future
by SageK
Summary: Prompt: A picture on tumblr of two young men kissing at some kind of out door event


It had been Unique's idea.

Sitting in the choir room, she had been the one to bring up the fact that Cleveland was hosting a LGBT festival and had asked if anyone would be willing to attend with her.

Marley had grinned at her friend. "Sure."

"Me too," Jake added, then, noting the surprised looks, he shrugged. "What? I've got an uncle who's day. Mom and me have been part of PFLAG since I was a baby."

"I'll go!" Brittany said happily. "I like sandwiches."

Somehow, her brain had heard LGBT and translated that to BLT. The fact that he knew that made Blaine wince. "Not BLT, Brittany, LGBT. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender. It's a pride festival. And I'm in."

Brittany processed what Blaine had told her and then nodded. "I'm still going."

"Road trip," Sam agreed with a grin and Tina tossed him a thumbs-up.

The others had bowed out, Ryder for his tutoring sessions, Joe's parents would let him go without them, Sugar and Kitty didn't feel like missing a big sale at the mall and Artie claimed his wheelchair wasn't great for outdoor festivals. Finn begged off, saying that if he went to a pride thing it should be with Kurt, the show brotherly support.

In the end, Puck wound up accompanying them, the nominal adult to appease the parents that cared.

Even he seemed a little shocked to be thrust into the role of responsible grown-up.

After a little discussion, it had been decided that Blaine and Tina would drive, Sam, Brittany and Unique with him, Jake, Marley and Puck with her. The trip wasn't too bad, filled with random chatter (some of the stuff that came out of Brittany's mouth was hilarious), singing along with the radio and snacking on bad food.

Honestly, Blaine didn't know where Britney put all the stuff she ate. It defied all logic. Someone her size should not have been able to demolish two giant Cinnabon's and wash them down with a Big Gulp of Mountain Dew.

In retrospect, giving her all that sugar had not been the best plan, but they'd all been too shocked to stop her.

By the time they reach the small hotel in Cleveland, not far from the park with the majority of the festival was being held, Brittany exploded out of the car. As it was Friday night, they decided to check in and sleep, head out early in the morning for the opening ceremony and parade.

Puck got them registered and everyone (save Brittany and Sam) ordered and ate pizza. Sam took Brittany to the gym to let her work off her excess energy on the treadmill.

Blaine had just climbed into bed when Sam limped into the room they were sharing, a sweaty mess, and stumbled into the shower just long enough to wash off the stink. Then he collapsed, face down on his bed, which Blaine had already stripped of the nasty comforter.

Muttering something that might've been some form of good night, Sam was asleep within moments and Blaine drifted off to the sound of his steady breathing.

* * *

The next morning, they grabbed coffee and breakfast breeders and watched the exuberant parade. It was unlike anything Blaine had seen before and it was awesome.

After, they wandered into the park, with there were some booths set up by different groups and the stage where musicians were playing. Setting out a couple of large blankets and cooler, they staked a claim to an area of grass as people began to flood the area, chatting and mingling.

Unique and the other girls disappeared into the crowd around the time Jake hauled Puck over to meet some folks at the PFLAG set up. Blaine settled on the one of the blankets, sipping his frozen coffee and gazing around happily.

From where he was sprawled on the thin flannel, Sam said, "There's a bunch of stuff going on tonight. Parties, fireworks, a couple of theaters showing themed movies. What sounds good?"

"I don't know," Blaine replied, then turned to his friend and froze.

Sam had lost his shirt and was rubbing sunblock all over his chest and abs, muscles clenching and flexing as he moved. Shirtless Sam was always a sight to behold.

Not that Blaine had any illusions, he knew Sam was straight, but still, gorgeous was gorgeous.

Finished with the sunblock application, Sam flopped back onto the blanket, stretching and wiggling into a comfortable position. "The band isn't bad."

Blaine cocked his head and grimaced. "The guy playing the guitar is offbeat and out of tune."

"Aside from that."

"Not bad," he conceded, leaning back in closing his eyes.

Several minutes later, a familiar voice pulled him out of his peaceful musings.

"Well, well, well, if I'd had any idea you more interesting than the typical boring, pretty boy jock, I'd have made more of an effort to get to know you."

Blaine opened his eyes to see Sebastian standing above Sam, looking down at him with a smirk.

Lowering his sunglasses to give Sebastian a narrow eyed glare, Sam said, "Well, if I didn't know you were jerk who tried to blind my best friend with rock salt, I might have let you."

"Aw," Sebastian replied, turning his gaze to Blaine. "Your little heterosexual buddy is trying out his claws. How cute."

"What are you doing here, Sebastian?" Blaine asked as the other boy deposited himself on their blanket.

Sebastian shrugged. "It's a pride festival in Ohio! Like I was going to miss this. What are you doing, bringing sweet and simple Captain America with you?"

"Sam is my friend," Blaine said, heaving a sigh, feeling bad that Sam was no frowning and wearing his thinking face.

"You know," Sam suddenly interjected, "Sometimes I wish I was dumb enough not to know that when people call me special, it's usually not meant as a good thing. People who call me simple aren't even trying to hide the fact that they're assholes, but at least they're open about it. To be honest though, simple isn't always bad. You guys are both smart. You over think stuff and try to fit the world into boxes with labels that your brains tell you exist, but don't always, instead of just being."

Having said his piece, Sam rolled onto his belly to sun his back.

"What was that about?" Sebastian asked testily.

"The Tao of Sam," Blaine replied with a laugh.

That was when a soccer ball bounced over, rolling to a stop against Sam's side. He looked at the ball, then around for its owner.

"Sorry." The nice-looking young man with light brown curls called out. "It got away from us. We could use another body. Want in?"

He motioned over to a disorganized group of men and women were clearly waiting for him to return the ball.

"Sure," Sam replied, slipping himself upright with one firm push of his hands. He met Blaine's eyes after giving Sebastian another glare and said, "I'll be right over there."

"Okay," Blaine nodded and watched Sam trot off. The brunette with a soccer ball was talking animatedly and touched Sam's back as they walked. It was not the sort of platonic touch straight guys regularly exchanged, not some mockery of combat. No, it lingered and Blaine pursed his lips, looking away.

Sebastian was smirking. "Do you think he even knows he's being flirted with?"

Frowning, Blaine shrugged. "Maybe. Sam's good with people."

"Clearly. That's obviously the reason he was invited to play…Oh, tackle soccer. Interesting."

"Shut up."

They sat for a while, snarking, observing the crowd and watching the game.

Eventually, Jake threw himself onto the blanket, pulling open the cooler and fishing out a sandwich. "Sam was right. All the food here costs a fortune," he said, inhaling half a turkey sub before noticing Sebastian's presence. "Oh, hey."

Sebastian grinned. "Hey to you too. I don't think I…."

"Evil Warbler."

Puck arrived at a more sedate pace than his brother, but also attacked the cooler, eyeing Sebastian with the sort of hostility that somehow wasn't diminished by the rainbow painted on his cheek. When he turned to Blaine, he asked, "He starting shit? Cuz I could totally shoved them in a porta potty and push it down the hill."

Sebastian narrowed his own eyes. "I don't think hate crimes would go over well with this crowd."

Puck snorted. "I'm chill with the rainbow. Revenge has got nothing to do with who you wanna do."

"Touché."

Looking from one person to the next, Jake asked, "What did I miss?"

"Dickhead over there hucked a Slushee full of rock salt into Blaine's face last year."

"I did rock that eyepatch though," Blaine quipped sarcastically. "I felt like Nick Fury."

Jake frowned and gave Sebastian a glare very similar to his brother's. "Not cool."

"Oh please, that was last year," Sebastian grumbled. "I've turned over a new leaf. Hunter and his freaky cat are the ones you should be worrying about. I think he's training it to attack."

Collapsing back onto the blanket, sweating and grinning, Sam asked, "Is he intentionally trying to channel Dr. Evil or is it just…."

"Incidental," Blaine finished, eyeing Sam's pink shoulders.

Sebastian shrugged. "He really needs another hobby…and to get laid. I think the boy has been in military institutions since he popped out of his mother. Pretty sure I've made more time with girls than he has and I don't even want to."

Nodding, Jake said, "So…we're going to have to make sure that Kitty never meet this kid."

Blaine cringed at the very idea. That would be like creating a vortex of evil that could kill everyone or at least make them all miserable.

"That would be like Lex Luther and Talia Al Ghul teaming up," Sam mumbled and Blaine nodded.

He had a point.

"What's that on your arm?" Sebastian suddenly asked, eyes fixed on Sam's left forearm.

Glancing down, Sam said, "Oh, Thom gave me his number, said if I'm ever in Dayton, I should give him a call."

Puck slapped a hand over his face. "You're going to be one of those cautionary tales, aren't you? Wandering off with the wrong guy and BOOM, you find yourself in some old dude's weirdass harem in the Middle East," he sighed, then gave Sam a serious look. "He was hitting on you."

"Yeah, I got that, thanks," Sam drawled, giving a truly epic eye roll.

Sebastian waved a finger. "It's not nice to tease a guy."

Sam raised a brow. "Who says I am?" he quipped. "He asked if I might be interested. Usually people don't bother, they just assume…And, for the record, I'm happily a B with Brittany."

Confused, Sebastian looked at Blaine. "Okay, since you seem to speak 'special' jock, translate."

With a shrug, Blaine said, "I'm not actually sure."

"L.G.B.T.," Sam replied simply, then glanced over his shoulder at his back. "Am I starting to burn?"

Still processing what Sam had just said, Blaine nodded absently. "Yes."

Grinning, Sebastian offered, "I'll grease you up, Blondie."

"No thanks," Sam declined, grabbing the sunblock and stretching out an arm toward Blaine. "Could you?"

"Sure," Blaine agreed, setting down the remains of his drink and moving over to sit by Sam, looking down at the broad expanse of his back as he opened the sunblock and poured some onto his hands.

Sam's skin was soft and warm as Blaine drew his hand up the line of the taller boy's spine, pulling a little sigh from him.

"Huh," Sebastian commented, watching them avidly. "I feel like I'm watching the beginning of some good amateur porn."

Blaine huffed. "Don't you friends of your own to bother?"

"Not here…though I could probably make some."

"Dude," Puck blurted, having been oddly silent for the past few minutes. He was looking at Sam with an odd expression. "You like dudes too now?"

Sam glanced over at Puck. "Yeah. Is that a problem?"

"Nah, I just owe Kurt and Santana 20 bucks."

"You bet on that!"

Snorting, Puck replied, "I ran book on anything anyone was willing to bet on…though, in the spirit of fair play, Santana handled any wagers that involved me directly."

"That makes as much sense as anything at McKinley," Blaine quipped.

"Is it true to the cheerleading coach has ties to organized crime?" Sebastian asked, honestly sounding curious.

That was actually one of the less horrible rumors that swirled around Sue Sylvester.

"It wouldn't surprise me," Tina said, arriving to lower herself gracefully onto the blanket. Her arms were covered in a bright array of randomly painted swirls of color.

Marley and Unique were sporting similar body art, will Brittany, in shorts and a bikini top, was pretty much had to toe paint. With that much skin on display, Blaine asked, "Did you put on sunblock before you were painted?"

Sam's shoulders were pink and warm under his hands, but hopefully the sunblock would prevent further burns.

"Tina made me put some on this morning," Brittany said easily, gnawing happily on a churro.

Sagely, Tina nodded. "I figured Brittany or Sam or both would end up half naked at some point today, so I preemptively looked out for my roomie!"

"Do they end up naked often?" Sebastian asked, clearly bemused. "If so, I can almost see the appeal of public school."

"This boy," Unique said, pointing at Sam, "seems to have something against shirts, but I'm not complaining."

Raising his head, Sam grinned. "What can I say, I'm a people pleaser!"

"I know you!" Brittany said suddenly, thrusting an accusatory finger at Sebastian. "Santana says you're sneaky evil, but if you were a girl, she'd totally hit that."

"If she were guy, I'd tap that," Sebastian replied, which made Brittany scowl.

Puck snorted. "Please, on a bad day Satan's balls are bigger than yours. She'd fucking _destroy_ you."

"Not seeing how that's supposed to deter me."

"She's my girlfriend," Brittany said in a warning tone. "Why are you here? You're not nice. You hurt Blaine and he's ours now."

Blaine was startled when she grabbed his shirt and tugged him forward over Sam's prone body to wrap him in a hug. He wound up with his face smashed against one of her breasts, awkwardly straddling Sam's thighs.

"So, I take it she's 'special' too?" Sebastian said, barely bothering to choke back his laughter.

"Fuck you," Sam snapped, knowing the other boy was referring to his earlier comments about knowing that special wasn't necessarily a good thing.

"Any time, Blondie, any time," Sebastian replied and, though he couldn't see it, Blaine knew he was leering. "Though from here it looks like Blaine's getting up close and personal with your sweet little…."

"How old are you?"

Pucks non sequitur seemed to wrong foot Sebastian, who replied, "18."

"Then stop sexually harassing the minors." Blaine could hear Puck's smirk. "The only other three legal adults on this blanket are me, Brittany and Tina and we are not interested."

Finally squirming out of Brittany's grip (she was deceptively strong), Blaine climbed off of Sam, mumbling, "Sorry."

"No worries," Sam replied, rolling into a sitting position and grinning. "You've got Brittany's body paint all over your face."

That didn't bother him much, but… "How's my hair?"

"A little ruffled, but it's good."

"No, if it's ruffled, then it will get worse," Blaine murmured, raising a tentative hand to assess the damage without further disturbing anything.

"Release the Kraken!"

Blaine blinked. "Oh no you did not!" he exclaimed and pounced, wrapping an arm around Sam's neck in an attempt to get him into a headlock. Sam laughed and twisted, causing the two of them to tumble sideways as they wrestled.

"Five bucks on Blaine!" Tina cheered, causing Blaine to grin even as Sam got a good hold on his shoulder.

"I don't know, Sam's a lot bigger," Brittany offered her opinion, climbing out of the way as they rolled toward her.

"Little guys are usually tough," Jake said, tossing in his two cents. "And Blaine's pretty strong. He won up that rope in gym class like someone had lit a fire under his ass."

"Are you guys seriously pulling each other's hair?" Marley asked with a laugh, causing both boys to release their grips momentarily. Hair pulling was a no-no.

"You two are such boys," Unique said with a sigh as they tumbled past her. "Again, not that I'm complaining."

"Amen," Sebastian agreed. "Hey, Blondie, tried to pull his shirt off!"

"You idiots know I'm taping this, right?" Puck said, snickering, then clearly addressed the camera. "What do you expect? I'm the adult supervision!"

Somehow, during the last role, Blaine had wound up behind Sam and, deciding he wasn't going to win based on sheer strength, plastered himself against Sam's torso, arms encircling him and legs locking around his waist. Sam tried to reach around to dislodge him, but was unable to get any leverage.

Success.

"What the..?" Sam said, then burst out laughing again, pushing himself up onto his knees and Blaine just hung on. "Dude!"

Brittany laughed. "I told you you were a baby koala!"

That wasn't exactly the most masculine of creatures. Picking his face up from where was pressed into Sam's shoulder blade, he said, "Truce?"

"Truce."

Sliding off of Sam's back, Blaine sat down and grinned at Sam who was smiling back, red-faced and hair a wreck.

Hair.

Oh, shoot.

"How's…"

"Just let it go, dude. The curls have escaped."

"It's not as bad as prom," Brittany assured him. "Want a sandwich?"

"A sandwich?"

"Yes," she agreed. "Boys are easily distracted by food or sex. Since you don't want sex me, which is good because Santana would like that, I'm offering food."

"Sandwiches sound great," Sam said, accepting the offering and passing one to Blaine. Before he ate his, Sam picked the cheese off and handed it to Blaine, who forked over his tomato slices.

"Aw," Sebastian taunted. "How domestic."

Rolling her eyes, Tina said, "Someone's setting up a giant slip and slide on the hill. Want to check it out?"

Everyone (including Sebastian, who made noises about wanting to watch idiots maim themselves with a white trash toy) decided that sounded interesting, so Blaine and Sam again found themselves alone, enjoying lunch.

"Kurt and Rachel want me to try to come up to New York right after graduation," Blaine hurt himself saying. "Kurt is really excited about their pride week in June. His boyfriend is helping with one of the music venues."

Sam nodded, by this point picking at his sandwich, only eating the vegetables. "I'm gonna get a job for the summer in Kentucky probably, see my family since the dorms don't open until right before school starts."

"Where did you decide to go?"

"The Pratt Institute. I'm going to study art and graphic design, got a scholarship and everything. Coach helped me edit my essay."

"That's great Sam!" Blaine exclaimed, reaching out to touch his arm. He knew Sam had been really worried about paying for college. "Where is the Pratt Institute?"

Sam looked over him, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Brooklyn."

"Brooklyn," Blaine breathed. "You're coming to New York too!"

Nodding, Sam let a full smile bloom and Blaine dropped his sandwich in favor of throwing his arms around him and tugging him into a hug.

"This is going to be amazing!" he babbled. "Oh! We could both go this summer. You could stay with me till the dorms open or just stay with me. Get a job there, if you want. Settle into the city. Don't leave me alone with Kurt and Rachel during baseball season!"

As much as Blaine adored Kurt and Rachel, he had seen both of their reactions to organized sports.

Sam laughed a bit. "That sounds awesome, but I don't think you'd like any place I could…."

Interrupting him, Blaine said, "This is going to sound so spoiled, but this is where trust funds and parents who throw money around in lieu of affection come in. I'm getting an apartment. Just come with me. I don't want to leave you."

He felt Sam tremble little, felt his hands flex and grab firmer hold of Blaine's T-shirt. Cursing himself mentally, Blaine realized what he'd just said had probably kicked Sam rate in his abandonment issues.

"Okay," Sam mumbled suddenly, giving a final tight squeeze before backing off. "But I'm definitely getting a job and helping pay for what I can."

Blaine smiled, a weightlifting from his heart that he hadn't actually been consciously aware of.

Yes, New York was his dream, but having Sam there would make things perfect.

"I heard Finn talking to you about OSU a few months ago," Blaine admitted with a small frown. "He sounded so excited for you…"

Sam wrinkled his nose. "I only applied there because I wasn't sure I would get in anywhere. To be honest, I don't want to play football in college and Cooter gives me a bad feeling."

None of the kids in glee knew exactly what had gone down between Coach Bieste and Cooter, but between Sam's instinct and the fact that Coach Sylvester had slashed the man's tires the last two times he'd been at McKinley, Blaine was willing to bet he had done something bad.

"Are you excited?"

Now full, beaming grin did cross Sam's face. "I really am. Neither my folks went to college and, for years, I thought it was too dumb, but if I work hard I know I can do this."

"You will," Blaine affirmed with a nod. "Just watch, in a few years, you'll be working at Marvel and I'll be off-Broadway, but close my big break."

Sam surged to his feet in excitement, hauling Blaine up with him. "I'll be there for all your opening nights."

"It goes without saying I'll be collecting all your comics."

"You'll have to sign your playbills for me."

"All the other comic nerds will be jealous that I know you."

"Comic Con! You could come with me if I go!"

"You can be my date to the Tony's!"

Voices raised in excitement, grinning brightly in each other's faces, filled with happiness and hope, Blaine stretched up and slung one arm around Sam's shoulders and wrapping the other around his torso, aiming a kiss at his cheek.

Unlike some guys, Sam never shied away from physical displays of affection, so Blaine knew he wouldn't be put off by a little platonic PDA.

Except…Sam turned his head at the last moment, catching Blaine's lips with his own and vaulting them straight out of platonic-land. The sounds of the crowd around them faded out as Blaine's focus narrowed down to Sam, his embrace, his scent, his kiss….

Hands slipping on sun warmed, lotion slick skin, Blaine sighed against Sam's lips, soft and slightly parted, gentle but passionate. His palm, broad and a bit rough skinned, cupped the nape of Blaine's neck even as he began to lean back, something Blaine was having none of, surging forward after him and catching that lush lower lip between his own.

Sam hummed appreciatively, smiling against Blaine's mouth.

"Oh my gosh! Yay!"

Brittany's exclamation broke into the little bubble that had composed Blaine's sphere of awareness since the moment Sam kissed him. Before they even had a chance to break apart, she collided with them, all long limbs and sweet smelling skin. They staggered a little, but stayed upright and Sam began to laugh as Brittany pressed lipgloss kisses onto each of their cheeks.

"I knew Blam was endgame!" she declared. "I knew it!"

"Brittany, where the others?" Blaine asked, accepting the fact that she was going to cuddle them for a bit.

"Did you get lost?" Sam asked, though it was less of a question than it was a request for confirmation.

"Yes, but I found my way back here," she agreed happily. "You two are so cute. Things are good. Blam is a go, right? I've got Brittana in hand. Tike is back on track. Jarley is baby pandas. Ooh, will you guys help me with Puckleberry? How are they going to realize they're MTB if they're never in the same state? It doesn't make any sense!"

Following Brittany's train of thought was just asking for headache.

"Baby pandas?" Sam asked, somehow choosing that, out of Brittany's entire ramble, to question.

"Jake and Marley," she said with a nod. "They're cute and fluffy and black and white."

Blaine's eyes bugged the little. "Let's not say that aloud, okay? And…Puckleberry?"

Brittany nodded very seriously. "You two should come to my house when we get home. I have a flowchart and Lord Tubbington has taken lots of surveillance footage over the years."

Actually, Blaine thought that would be interesting to see. "Sounds good," he agreed, then smiled happily when Sam pressed a kiss against his temple.

Releasing them, Brittany clapped her hands together. "Yay! But for now, want to go sing Lady Gaga karaoke? There's a contest!"

_Oh, hell yes_. Grabbing Sam's hand, Blaine said, "Lead the way, Brittany."

He hadn't known what to expect from his first pride festival, but so far it was pretty damn awesome.

* * *

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